ssht

ssht is a lightweight helper around ssh that uses ~/.ssh/config as the source of truth.

It keeps the standard OpenSSH workflow intact and only adds:

• alias + description listing
• fzf-based picker in ssht
• simple add, rm, and edit commands
• a tiny ssh wrapper so you can run ssh c <alias>

Why this approach

• ~/.ssh/config is the standard and already works with ssh, scp, rsync, sftp, and editors like VS Code Remote SSH.
• The tool stays lightweight because it does not need its own database.
• Descriptions are stored as comments directly above each Host block.

Example:

# desc: Production app server
Host app-prod
  HostName 203.0.113.10
  User deploy
  Port 22
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/app-prod.pem

Commands

ssht
ssht list
ssht add
ssht rm app-prod
ssht edit app-prod
ssh c app-prod

ssht opens an fzf picker to choose the target.

• Type to filter
• Up / Down to move
• Enter to connect
• Esc / Ctrl-C to cancel

Example TUI:

Type to filter. Enter connects. Esc cancels.
Alias                   Description                     Target
> app-prod              Production app server          deploy@203.0.113.10
  analytics-dev         Analytics box                  ubuntu@198.51.100.25
  staging-web           Staging frontend               deploy@203.0.113.20

Install

Clone the repository and run:

./install.sh

By default this installs symlinks to:

~/.local/bin/ssht
~/.local/bin/ssh

If you want a different install location:

INSTALL_DIR=/usr/local/bin ./install.sh

Requirements

• OpenSSH client (ssh)
• Bash
• fzf

Install fzf on macOS with:

brew install fzf

Configuration format

ssht reads entries from ~/.ssh/config.

Descriptions use a # desc: comment directly above the Host block:

# desc: Analytics box
Host analytics-dev
  HostName 198.51.100.25
  User ubuntu
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/analytics-dev.pem

Portability

To install on another machine:

1. Clone the repository.
2. Run ./install.sh.
3. Copy or sync your ~/.ssh/config and SSH keys.
4. Ensure ~/.local/bin is in PATH.

Notes

• ssht writes directly to ~/.ssh/config.
• ssht uses fzf, and ssht list prints a plain list.
• ssh c <alias> is handled by the installed wrapper, and every other ssh call passes through unchanged.
• The tool expects one primary alias per Host block.
• Wildcard Host entries are ignored in the list.